Guardian And Lover
by neverknowing99
Summary: Jezer Rayner, a new Guardian Corps member at the age of 22, joins the Corps after a falling out with his father. He is assigned to Lieutenant Amodar's Security Regiment where he meets a beautiful woman, Claire "Lightning" Farron. This is the beginning of his life, colliding with hers.
1. Chapter 1: Broken Beginnings

Guardian and Lover

Author's Notes: I've been playing the Final Fantasy 13 ever since it came out, and fell in love with the trilogy; I really hope you enjoy this AR (Alternate Reality) of FF13 with Jezer and Light. This is my first FanFic so any Constructive Criticism is most definitely welcome! And so we begin…

Chapter 1: Broken Beginnings

Jezer strapped on his sword holster on his back, he slid his massive greatsword into the sheath, taking a deep breath. His apartment was not as impressive as the ones surrounding him, basic living needs for a man on his own. He wore his new outfit for his job, his Guardian Corps gear, with his small cape hanging on his left shoulder and his greatsword on the right, he said to himself. "First day on the job, better not screw up like I did back in my last attempt for a career" The time was 3 PM; the time assigned to him to rendezvous with his CO Lieutenant Amodar was only 30 minutes away. He walked out of his small apartment overlooking Bodhum, and proceeded to make his way to the designated location.

"Meet us on the beach."- Amodar. He read from the scrap of paper given to him. "Why a beach… Shouldn't I be hunting down petty criminals and making parking tickets?" Jezer walked to the gazebo containing his CO and fellow members that graduated with him from the academy. He sees his old friend Johnson, his knee shaking with anxiety. "Johnson. Nice to see you're here. I Thought you were too scared to even hold a sword" Jezer smirked. "Oh shut it Rayner, I'm great with a sword, haven't you seen me cut fruit at my house?" "Yeah I've been scared to come over ever since." Before the two could talk more about old memories Lieutenant Amodar disrupted the exchange. "Quiet you two! Listen up everyone!" The entire company of 8 rose to their feet in a jolt. "Today we are here to investigate into a mysterious monster. Citizens reported that the monster has been sighted near the beach area here. Most believe it to be a manmade aquatic machine, as it wails a loud and ear breaking noise. Nothing too hard to find, but still I want everyone on alert for this thing. I'm not going to take chances with people's security here" Amodar exclaimed with such projection.

Jezer asked "How should we proceed to take it down sir?" Amodar quickly replied "Do what you were trained to do! If you do see that monster, contact me or another officer, and we'll back you up. Stay paired, I don't want you to be picked off one at a time." Amodar took one long last glance to see if the others had any other concerns. "If that's you're all dismissed!" Amodar strapped his Gatling gun and started to patrol near the city. "Great. So we are just supposed to just find this monster all on ourselves?!" exclaimed another member with tenacity. Johnson looked at the worried trooper and said "Amodar would have accepted any questions while he was here. Were you too scared to be yelled at for a question?" The trooper quickly looked at Johnson and said with terror "N-no! I just want to keep myself safe and not go chase some rumor I haven't heard of before!" the nervous trooper's anxiety could be felt in some of the other's hearts. They looked at him with worry and disappointment for his courage about the job he has chosen to do.

"Hey we were trained for this job, and if you believe that your well-being is more important than those of others, why did you sign on for this job in the first place? To wear the uniform and look good or actually save lives?" Jezer rebuked. Johnson took his friend's side and said "Jezer's right, we all knew the risks of this job. Just call for back up if you really think you can't handle the pressure. Remember what he said, get a pair, patrol, and talk to people about what they have heard and find this thing." As the other guardians left, the nervous member stuck close to a group of other troops while the rest obeyed their CO's order and stayed paired. Johnson and Jezer stayed to discuss how to catch the monster and how to take it down.

"You're full of surprises today friend. First you come out of your house properly dressed, and you made a pep talk with little to no fuss. Next thing you know you'll be corporal." Jezer said with wit. "Hey I'm just full of surprises." Johnson pulls out a review sheet of citizen sightings of the beast. "Most of the citizens reported that the monster was spotted very close to our position. We should do a close off of the area in case this thing shows. At the same time today's when the fireworks festival should be going off, everyone in Bodhum in going to be near this beach for the best possible view. What do you think?" Jezer brainstormed what they should do. He thought out multiple possibilities, from sealing off the beach, to sending out an all alert message. "We could split this role with another pair and let them get ahold of the new networks and alert that to keep people away from the beach until we resolve the issue, while that's happening we should close off the beach until this thing is found. Hopefully it doesn't appear at a different location than what the people say."

Jezer and Johnson grabbed their honorary patches to signify their authority as Guardian Corps security. Jezer ran towards a walking patrol from the gazebo and notified them "Hey you two!" Jezer said "Me and Johnson thought of something, tonight's the firework festival; people are going to be here in the masses to see it. We can't have people coming near the beach at all, they might get injured. Get ahold of any local newstation, and tell them to send out an alert to tell people to not go near anywhere this beach." "Are you sure? I don't know if Amodar would approve" the trooper asked looking to his partner for his opinion. "Why wouldn't he? He trusts us with this assignment and we have to minimize any potential causalities." He said with urgency. The trooper immediately contacted Amodar and was given the message of approval. He nodded to Jezer and he began to tell people to get away from the beach. Jezer and Johnson walked towards the beach and started to alert people to leave the immediate area.

"Come on people! If you want to breathe another day, you'll listen to our instructions!" he exclaimed "A massive monster has been sighted around here, we know the festival is today but please, for your own safety you must evacuate the area now!" The people left in a rush, and by the time they all cleared out, the time was nearly 7 PM. As they placed a holographic "Do not cross" line, they noticed that it was getting increasingly late. Johnson stated. "The fireworks should be starting in an hour" Jezer reminded Johnson "Hopefully the alert was sent out." But his statement was in vain when he saw more and more people build up in front of him and Johnson. He worried the other troopers didn't actually call Amodar and just lied to him, being lazy on the job. "I'll contact Amodar to make sure those guys actually did send out an alert." Just as Jezer reached his com device, a woman screamed with terror "It's here! The terror of the sea!" The woman ran towards café cowering in fear under a table, and Jezer and Johnson quickly turned around to face the gruesome monster. The people scattered, some ran for cover, some ran for their children to hide them from the monster. The monster was like a giant whale, with an enlarged stomach and medium sized head compared to its gigantic body. It was a shade of dark blue, a perfect shade of color to blend in with the water at night; its massive fins touched the beach's sand and looked like it could crawl towards them.

"Damn it! Johnson get Amodar on the line! I'll hold that thing off until you can evacuate everyone!" The urgency is his voice rang in Johnson's ears. Jezer knew he had to act, if he didn't people would die. It wouldn't be the first time someone died under his watch however. "Wait Jezer!" When he spoke those words Jezer already was launched in the air, his greatsword rang with a beautiful unsheathe, and before he could slash the monster on the head, its massive fin smacked him back into a canopy. "Gah!" He landed on the canopies roof; back first, he felt a great surge of pain from the impact. He laid there in pain tell himself to "Suck it up!" he stopped saying words in his own head "Crap… That thing isn't natural…" He whispered to himself. "I've taken down sea monsters before; none ever hit me that hard…" He slowly got up, but his will started to break when he heard the monster's screech. "Johnson! That thing isn't natural! It's man made! The people were right! We have to find a way to disable it!" He jumped from the roof and started to run towards the monster's belly hoping to sever a vital part of the monster. His slash came to no avail, as the monster's shell simply rejected the slash and again was Jezer knocked back by the monster.

"Private! Get up!" Amodar exclaimed. "What in Pulse's name were you thinking about fighting that thing alone?!" He asked quizzically "I did what I had to sir, Johnson evacuated the surrounding civilians and I was able to make sure that thing didn't get anyone else hurt except my own face." The monster's shriek started to burst the Guardian's eardrums. "Damn that thing is loud!" Amodar proceeded to fire his gun but the bullets entry was rejected by the beast's thick outer shell. "Why didn't you send out an alert?!" Amodar yelled. Jezer said "A patrol didn't listen to my directions to alert everyone! Those damn men should be discharged!" As he yelled, the monster yelled even louder, nearly breaking the surrounding windows. Amodar fired another round of bullets with Armor Piercing potential, alas; the bullets were made impotent, like rubber to a lightning strike. "Not even bullets huh? Let's see how you like this!" Amodar primed a grenade, but the monster screeched ever so loud that Amodar had to put the grenade away. As the monster's mouth was exposed, Jezer felt a light rush, a speed that went past him and Amodar. He only caught a Glimpse, but all he saw was a Woman, with the same cape color he had, charge the monster unfazed by its deafening cry and slashes the monster's exposed lower mouth with a quick and powerful hit landing softly on the sand. She had rose colored hair, beautiful but light skin, her outfit closely resembling his own and she held an honorary sword, the Blazefire Saber.

"Nice work Sergeant! The monster is exposed! Charge now!" Amodar yelled with authority. More Guardians' appeared on the scene and fired a barrage of bullets hoping to distract the monster. Jezer although dizzied from the monsters horrendous screech reacted swiftly to his CO's orders and charged the monster, running up its fin that was sulking on the sand due to the impairment of it head, and dove into the monsters mouth and fell down straight into the beast's belly. Before Amodar, Johnson, the other guardians and the mysterious Sergeant could draw an expression on their faces to show Jezer's bold action; a loud slash came from inside the monster. The monster let out a cry, the loudest it's ever produced as it was wracked with pain. The belly of the monster was split wide open like a watermelon and Jezer appeared striking any systems he deemed dangerous. "Well that was strangely effective" said Johnson as he stood in awe of Jezer's action. As he kept slashing the monsters' insides the fireworks rang off blast after blast, showing a concert of beauty and death in one scene of Bodhum beach. Jezer, tired and dazed from the battle, put his sword in its sheath, and heard the fireworks roar. As he began to walk out of the monsters belly, the monsters last desperate attempt of attack came rushing towards Jezer. The monster's head dove to crush Jezer under the weight, but the Sergeant reacted with her lightning quick speeds, decapitating whatever was remaining of the monsters head.

Jezer turned around to see what had transpired to the monster and how the head could have crushed him. The beautiful woman he saw was standing still and true, holstering her saber in her sword sheathe. She walked towards Amodar and his troupe. "Target down Sir." were her only words. "Fine work Sergeant Farron! And you rookie, I'm surprised you had the guts to do that" Amodar said with jolly. "Thank you sir… I couldn't have done this without Sergeant Farron's help." He made a quick look to her but without eye contact. Johnson looked at him and butted in.

"Ah and Private Johnson's help of course" He quickly said to make up for forgetting to mention him. "Oh yeah? What did he do other than stand and wait?" said the Sergeant. Amodar quickly discarded what she said and came out with an introduction. "Boys this is Sergeant Farron, had you not picked up on that already, we call her Lightning for short." His face had a proud and happy face, one he has never seen in a long time from anyone. "You know Sergeant Farron, with that quick demonstration and your past successful missions; I believe you should be promoted to Lieutenant." The woman looked at her old CO in astonishment and disbelief. "Sir? Are you sure?" "Most definitely, I'll schedule your promotion date about nine days from now. But as a new Lieutenant you should take someone under your wing. I recommend Private Rayner." Amodar said with conviction. "Oh crap." He thought in his head. "How the hell am I supposed to learn with her as my new CO? I'll probably get distracted…" As he finished the thought Lightning spoke. She quickly thought of the decision and kept her feelings of joy of becoming an officer secret as she has always done with any of her feelings "I agree. Private Rayner you're under my wing now. Sorry Private Standstill, you'll still be with Amodar" She spoke quick but with perfect pronunciation. Johnson's face had a sign of deep sadness but quickly changed "Well it looks like you're going to leave my side again huh Rayner?" Johnson said with a tone of dismay. "Oh don't miss me too much. And try not to get my old CO killed will you?" "I'll try not to." The two gave each other a firm handshake as a final goodbye. Little did Jezer know this would be one of the last times he'll see his friend again.

Jezer walked awkwardly with his new CO. He couldn't resist looking at her. Something about her radiated with something he's always missed in his life. He shouldn't be thinking this way he thought. "What in blazes am I thinking… Why did I agree to this?! Ugh I need keep my head straight, I can't keep looking at her like that she'll pick up right on that" Suddenly she put her fist on his chest in a backhand sort of way. "Let's enjoy the fireworks rookie. This is my first attempt to be nice to anyone in the Corps, so don't screw it up." She released her hand from his chest. They walked towards another gazebo, and sat across each other to see the array of fireworks going off. His light brown hair flowed with the wind, and he could smell the sweet scent Lightning gave off with her hair flowing as well. Just as he started to reach for his canteen strapped to his back to calm his nerves, she began to speak. "So Private. How long have you been with the Corps?" She stared into his eyes, as he stared back. "Today is my first day ma'am." He answered with confidence. "Your first day huh? Well don't let it get to your head; just because you stopped that monster, what you did was a reckless and idiotic move." She scolded him with a stern voice. "In my defense Sergeant, I tested that monster's armor and it was impregnable. When you exposed its weak spot, I took a chance and dove, I had a feeling it was man made. I've hunted sea monsters before this, and I know the difference between getting hit by a fish and a mech. If that thing was a massive mutated fish, when I went for its belly, it should have not stopped my sword" He said with bravado in his voice. She looked at him and saw the confidence in his eyes about his decision. She liked that about him; she never liked to express her personal life to anyone, but he went straight to those questions. "If I may ask Ma'am how long have you been with the Corps?" "Ever since I left high school. I always have my goals in mind, nothing else." She said with a cold tone. "Understood ma'am." He looked at the barrage of fireworks and tried to enjoy himself without doing something stupid.

"Ma'am. You don't seem to be enjoying the fireworks. Something on your mind?" Jezer asked after he drank out of his canteen. "None of your business" She responded coldly. "Ma'am there has to be more than just shutting me out. We're going to be working together soon enough, if you can't tell me a simple thing as to what's bothering you, how can I ever trust in you?" She took those words in like hits to the body. She never liked showing her thoughts to others. "My younger sister Serah." She looked towards the fireworks. "She's my only family left. I've put more time into this job than I have been able to be with her. Its effects are starting to wane on me." He took in what she said and felt her pain through her words. "Why don't you go to her? It's been a long day for both of us. I can see you in the morning whenever you assign my patrol." He started to stand always keeping his eyes pressed on her. He knew she has been through a tough time in her past. "Her only family left? Something must have happened, although if I ask she'll probably shut just my curiosity down in a heartbeat." He can tell in an instant what her feelings must be. He himself lost his mother at a young age and his father and him never saw eye to eye, she has the same blank, but pained expression he had. "I'd like that Private. Top of the morning early 9 AM. Go now" He stood up straight and gives a quick salute. "Ma'am" And walked towards his apartment. Before he can go any further he decided to look back at the gazebo she stayed in. He admired her every feature. From her head to toe, he wanted to stay and talk, although her cold attitude shut him down, but it didn't freeze over his feeling for her. He didn't know what to feel, a love at first sight crap or a feeling of pity for her. As soon as she stood to find her sister, Jezer disappeared into the shadows as he always has, and arrived at his apartment took off his sword sheathe, and shirt hopped in for a quick shower and fell into his bed thinking. "Just another day…"


	2. Chapter 2: Life Changer

Guardian and Lover

Author's Notes: Sorry for the long wait!

Chapter 2: Life Changer

Jezer lay asleep on his bed, the sun slowly hitting his face as it rose. It has been 9 days since he first started his job and so far, him and his CO have made more arrests and saved more lives alone. He recounted to himself, when he came to her house a few days back to celebrate her 21th birthday. He didn't expect to see her sister and her fiancée in the same room however. He remembered the faithful encounter, although it is a sore subject to talk about. Lightning slammed the table and looked at Serah and Snow. Jezer stood in the back, trying not to stare at the food, but to focus on controlling his boss if she does anything drastic. "What?! Serah, I've only been gone a few days, and you run off and want to marry this fool?! I never approved of you to date him, and I regret you meeting him during the last summer months! For all I know he made you an L'cie!" She gave a dark cold stare at both of them; her stare could even be felt to Jezer. "Lightning let me explain!" Snow said trying to calm her down. "I didn't make Serah L'cie! If I did I would be branded too!" "Fine I'll give you that. But why didn't you protect her from becoming one in the first place?" She said. "Maybe if you weren't so busy doing your job and spending time with her, maybe this wouldn't have happened!" They both were slamming the table, getting closer to each other. "Stop it! Please! You're the two people I love the most; I don't want you to fight!" Serah screamed. Jezer grabbed his CO by the waist and pulled her away. Lightning followed by his pull and paced around near him. He never heard Serah's voice before, but he can hear the resemblance between her and Light. Serah stood there, her head down, saddened by what is transpiring. Just before Snow could talk once more, Lightning opened the door and said "Worst Birthday ever" And slammed it. Jezer was still in the house, looking at the distressed couple. He didn't know what to feel, either sad for Serah, or agree with his boss. But he made his decision.

"I don't know how you deal with her sometimes. Even I can barely keep it together with her." He said trying to change the mood. "I'm sorry for what she said. And if it's any consultation…" Jezer pulled out a small pair of Signet Rings; he kept these rings from his friend's failed marriage, passed on to him. "Take these. I can already tell you have your own engagement stuff, but keep these. My friend told me that, the couple that wears the rings will always be in each other's hearts. No matter where they are, or how angry they are at each other. Keep it. I'll be sure to contain her I promise." He gave the ring to Snow and Serah, they both looked up to him, and gave a small smile to him, Serah's eyes glistened, and Snow's smile began to grow bigger. "I hope you guys the best. I really do." He began to walk towards the door, but right as he opened it, Snow said "Hey. Thanks man. You sure you can contain her?" He made a small smirk, and nodded to him. As he walked out to find his CO, she was already ready for another patrol.

He arose, and his feelings began to rush in, he was ecstatic for Lightning, in which she will finally get the position she's worked so hard for. However, at the same time, from the days they worked together, he noticed that she barely talked. She already didn't talk a lot to begin with, but this time, he can tell she was going through; she was still shaken up from her sister and her birthday. He wiped his eyes a bit, and started to arise from his deep slumber, he looked at his alarm clock, and the time read "7:00 AM" Just as he began to stand, his door was kicked straight open and he sees his new CO. He quickly grabs his pistol under his pistol to be sure it truly is her. "Oh come on Private. You want to lose being my subordinate?" She said with a fun tone in her voice. "No I just don't approve of people kicking my door open." As he put the pistol away, she immediately grabbed him by his waist, and proceeded to kiss him. He was shocked for the turn of events, from being an Ice Queen, a deadly and silent cop, kicking his door down, to suddenly a kiss? He closed his eyes and as he enjoyed his dream he heard his alarm go off. He truly was awake this time. "Really? Crap brain why do you have to dream about that?" his body awoke from his dream state and began to put his shirt back on with his uniform, ironed out before he went to bed. He quickly threw on his garb, and took his greatsword, "Heartsever" with him.

"Damn it! I'm late!" He yelled as he began running down the hill he lived on. He quickly jumped on a roof and bypassed the traffic on the floor. As he was running, his phone gave a loud rang and it was from his CO. "Oh great. I can't answer this right now! She'll just yell at me anyways." He declined the call, and Lightning gave a little sigh. He kept running, from building to building, pole to pole, and he could see his CO sitting on a bench just straight across from him. "There she is! She doesn't look too thrilled though." He said to himself, a habit he never could break out of. He landed on the last building and gave a leap to the floor, rolling to reduce the impact of the fall. The people looked at him with astonished glares. All he did was wave and walk towards his boss.

Lightning sat on the bench, with crossed arms and legs, waiting for her subordinate to appear. As Jezer finally walked towards her, she gave a quick glance at him, and just before he could greet her hello, she interrupted his speech. "Where were you?" She asked with no emotion. "Recovering a bit you can say. Sleep is the best cure to anything I guess." He said that while putting his hand on his shoulder. "Hmp" she rose from the bench and began to walk towards the inner city. "You coming or what?" She asked as she walked. "Well damn she doesn't seem anything like in my dream…" He whispered. "Um yeah!" He replied and jogged to her. They walked towards the inner city, patrolled for suspicious activity. Jezer kept in pace with his CO, hoping not to break cadence with his feet. Lightning proceeded to talk to him about her promotion. "So private. You think I earned my stripes to become a Lieutenant?" She asked while making eye contact. "Of course ma'am. You deserve it. I haven't met anyone as dedicated as you in the entire corps." They nodded and turned their attention to make their way to the ceremony. They reached the heart of the nearby city; the auditorium was massive, extravagant, and elegant. "Damn. This place is huge for some promotion" He said to himself as he opened the door for his CO into the massive theater.

Amodar stood there, jolly as usual, shoulder pauldron in hand, ready for Lightning. She walked gracefully, from the auditorium they were in. Jezer was seated in front, among officers. Lightning began to enter the stage, and as Amodar placed her new Pauldron on, something changed. The door entering the auditorium busted open, and it had PSICOM troops there. They proclaimed of a breach, and that everyone had to take the shuttle down to pulse. All of the Guardian Corps members, decided to aid the PSICOM, at the same time, Amodar grabbed the newly promoted Lightning and Jezer aside behind curtains. "Listen you two! Something is off about this. PSICOM wouldn't declare something this big, without letting us know ahead in advance! This has to be connected to the Pulse Vestige!


End file.
